Love? What's that?
by Sarcastic Romantic
Summary: They grew up without the love of their families. If you don't know what love is, how are you to tell if it falls into your lap? Slash, RLSB
1. Remus

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter series or characters.**

**Remus**

I was never a much-loved child. Most of the time my parents weren't even in the house, leaving me in the care of some neighborhood babysitter. When they were around they mostly kept to their room or study. I had no friends. People thought me to be a snobby, rich kid when really, I was only incredibly shy. I loved books though. Anything can and will happen in books. School was exciting and entertaining. I always got high grades. At age eight, know-it-all was tacked on to the end of my title. So, I became the snobby, rich, know-it-all.

When I nine, I decided to go read out in the forest behind our house on the night of the full moon. That was when I was bitten. After that, my parents were always in the house, fussing and yelling at me. My mother, a fiery French woman, was always screaming at me for going out in the forest. They wouldn't let me go back to school, calling me defiled and strange. I was a stain on the family line, a half breed, a freak. They put in a basement, especially for the full moons. I was down there from the night before to the night after.

My live-in nurse would tend my wounds and give me food. She was the only one who was always around for me. When I was ten and a half, my parents fired her. They sent her back to her family, without a tongue. Six months later, I got my Hogwarts letter.

I was to get there a week early, the week of the full moon, so the Headmaster could make the right adjustments for my living conditions. I would go down through the passage to the Haunted House, behind the Whomping Willow, which had been planted just for me. The rest of the month I could be just like a normal child. Still, no one was allowed to know. I would be off visiting my sick mother once a month. I could truthfully say that she had hit me a little, that's where the marks came from. She was sick, she didn't know any better.

I would go through Hogwarts as I had my elementary school, keeping my head down and my grades up. That worked for awhile. Until I met James Potter.

James was a very forceful eleven-year-old. He stood by his beliefs. He seemed to think that I needed some friends. And that's what I was going to get. Some friends. James had come to the decision that two others were also worthy of his time. He picked me, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew. So after a lot of cajoling, threatening, bullying and bribery, we all ended up in the same room long enough for him to tell us his idea. He said that he wanted to put together the greatest group of pranksters in Hogwarts history. To do this he needed me, the brains, Sirius, the prankster prince (as he had been dubbed after turning Professor McGonagall's hair violet), Peter, the pickpocket and himself, the mastermind. So, weird, bookish Remus Lupin joined the Marauders.

**Next Chapter: **Sirius

**Excerpt: **"I did not grow up in a loving caring house. Love is not part of the Black Way."

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	2. Sirius

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter series or characters.**

**Sirius**

I did not grow up in a loving caring house. Love is not part of the Black Way. With my family all there is obedience, respect and proper etiquette. You either follow the rules or you are filth. Dirt. Grime.

So I grew up without any real friends. Just the ones who wanted to associate with me because my family was rich and powerful. I hated it. Regulus always thrived in that environment. He wanted the power and the money and the dinner parties. I didn't want anything to do with it. I hated every second of those meetings. The ones I had to sit through because I was the first born son. I hated the power and all it stood for. I wanted to be a normal kid with normal problems. I wanted to fear the things like monsters under your bed, not things like my mother.

When I arrived at Hogwarts, my parents were waiting for my letter that said, _Hi Mum. I made it into Slytherin, just like you wanted. What should I do know?_ But it never came. I was sorted into Gryffindor. My parents were furious. I was in the House full of blood traitors and mudbloods. And I was enjoying every minute of it. I still didn't have any friends but at least I didn't have to worry about the delicate balance that was my family's world.

One day, James Potter cornered me saying if I wasn't in the empty Transfiguration classroom at eight o'clock that night, he would hunt me down and hex me into February 31st. I knew it was an empty threat but I was intrigued. In the classroom, I came face to face with the two other boys that slept in our dormitory. James told us that he was putting together a group of pranksters. He said they were going to be the best in Hogwarts history. He said that he needed Remus Lupin to be the brains. Peter Pettigrew was going to be the pickpocket, the one who got us information and such. He was going to be the brains and I was needed because I had already been called the prankster prince thanks to Professor McGonagall's purple hair. Basically, I had the balls for things like that. So, shunned and friendless Sirius Black joined the Mauraders.

**Next Chapter: **The Marauders

**Excerpt: **A cloaked man hurried down the streets of Knockturn Alley, his eyes flicking back and forth nervously. Coming to a halt in front of a dark alleyway, he peered into the shadows.

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	3. The Marauders

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter series or characters**

**The Marauders**

A cloaked man hurried down the streets of Knockturn Alley, his eyes flicking back and forth nervously. Coming to a halt in front of a dark alleyway, he peered into the shadows.

"My Lord?" He whispered.

"Have you breached their ranks yet?" A shadowy figure appeared before him. The man gulped and cleared his throat.

"No… My Lord. But I… I am getting cl… closer. A… a few… more things must… must fall into place." The man stammered nervously.

"We are running out of time." The figure hissed, coldly.

"Yes… My Lord. I will… not fa… fail you." The man stuttered.

"Good." The figure vanished, leaving the man to race back through the darkened streets.

"Rem? Rem. Remus!" Sirius shouted, loosing his patience at his friend who had his nose in another book. They both sat in the library.

"Yes?" Remus asked, an annoyed expression on his face. Sirius grinned. Recently he had taken to annoying the smaller boy and trying to make him lose his composure. Nothing seemed to be working but Sirius was not discouraged. It took a lot to discourage him.

"What are you doin'?" Sirius cocked his head to the side, grinning slyly. The blond boy closed his eyes for a moment and shook his head as though to clear it.

"Reading. Why?" Remus smiled, expectantly. Sirius shrugged and was saved from answering by another one of their friends. James Potter sauntered over to the table, a bemused expression on his face. His two friends looked up, expectantly. He sat down, sighing.

"Let me guess..." Sirius began.

"Lily." He and Remus said together.

"I get to work with her for our DADA project. Six weeks with the perfect Lily Evans." James smiled dreamily. Remus rolled his eyes. Just then, Peter Pettigrew came running into the room. He skidded to a halt in front of their table and dove underneath a chair. A Slytherin fifth year came in a few seconds later, scowling and scanning the room. He caught sight of Sirius and his scowl deepened. He sauntered over, haughtily.

"Sirius." He snapped.

"Regulus." Sirius scowled. His brother looked around the table.

"Have any of you seen that _rat_, Pettigrew?" Regulus asked, hinting at something that he thought he knew.

"Not since lunch. Why?" Remus answered, staring at the younger boy. James had lost his dreamy look and was glaring at the Slytherin. The look was echoed ten-fold on Sirius' face.

"The little bastard… stole some stuff from me and I would like it back." Regulus now only addressed Remus, ignoring the death glares the two boys were sending him.

"If I see him, I shall inform him that you are looking for him, though no doubt he already knows. And, now, if you wouldn't mind leaving. Any more time in your presence and my friends here may be forced to do something rash." Remus informed the boy, calmly. The Slytherin shot Sirius an evil look before leaving hurriedly.

"Thank you, Remus." Peter breathed, crawling out from under the table and sliding into a chair. Sirius was breathing deeply and James was clenching his fists.

"No problem, Pete. But what did you steal from him? And how did he know it was you?" Remus smiled, slightly.

"Just some money and some of his homework. I didn't get it and needed a study guide." Peter grinned. Remus laughed.

"You must be getting lax if he figured out it was you," He shot a look at Sirius, "You alright, Padfoot?" He asked. Sirius was clutching his head and struggling to breathe. He looked up at Remus, slowly, looking rather sick.

"Yeah," He mumbled, "Just... just remembering." Over the summer Sirius had run away from home, though none of them knew why.

"It's alright, Siri. You're safe here." Remus smiled at his friend. Sirius took a deep breath and smiled back. Remus was the only one who could get Sirius to calm down when he got like that. No one knew why Remus relaxed the tall boy but as long as it kept Sirius from loosing it, they were fine with the arrangement.

"It's been really quiet lately guys." Sirius commented, looking around the table. James smirked, Remus grinned and Peter looked ecstatic. They all knew what that meant.

"I have an idea." James said. They turned to him, excited. They hadn't pulled a serious prank in a week and they were all getting antsy.

"Well..." Remus prompted, the smile on his face making him look his age for once.

"Here's what we do..." James started. They leaned in. The Mauraders were about to strike again.

**Next Chapter: **Lily

**Excerpt: **"James Potter! What the hell did you do to us!" Lily's voice screeched across the Common Room. The Marauder's gulped visibly.

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	4. Lily

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter series or characters

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own the Harry Potter series or characters.**

**Lily**

"James Potter! What the hell did you do to us?!" Lily's voice screeched across the Common Room. The Marauder's gulped visibly.

"Oh, fuck." James mumbled.

"Well, have fun James. I have stuff to do. See you later." Sirius stood up and made to sneak out of the room. Lily grabbed the back of his shirt.

"Sit. Down. Black." She snarled. Sirius gulped, forcing a smile.

"What's up, Lily?" He asked, guiltily. Lily's face was blood red. Everyone's faces shone a different color.

"Now. Let's try this again. What the hell did you do?" Lily screamed, glaring at the four boys, who were literally cowering into the couches.

"It's just a spell. It'll go away in a few days." Remus answered the calmest of the group. He knew that he was much safer than James or Sirius. From the looks of things they would probably wake up tomorrow without their manhood.

"What _kind_ of spell?" Lily bit out in a voice of deadly calm.

"It shows the emotion you're experiencing through colors in your face. Blood red for angry, white for scared, pink or magenta for love and/or liking, blue for sad, sunshine yellow for happy, green for jealously, orange for frustrated, pale yellow for interested and purple for satisfied or content." Remus recited.

"You found a spell that did all that? I mean, put the pigments in your skin and everything?" Lily asked, temporarily distracted. Remus nodded.

"Well… there were some points were I had to improvise and just mess around with a pigmentation charm. It was difficult to decide things for frustrated, interested and satisfied since no color is usually related to them. That took some experimentation and it explains why Snape's face was a different color each day this week." He explained, smiling.

"Whoa. You'll have to show me how you did that." Lily's face was now a pale yellow.

"I wrote it all down in case anyone ever wanted to do it again. I'm thinking about making a book from all the things that can be used for improvising in spells." Remus grinned.

"That's amazing. Can I see it?" Lily asked.

"Of course. Hold on a second. It's in my trunk." He stood up and headed for the Boy's Dormitory.

"Wait, Rem. I borrowed it, remember? I think I put it back in my trunk." Sirius lied quickly. He stood up and hurried after his friend, grateful to get away from Lily.

"Coward." James mumbled. Lily glared slightly at him and sat down. They quickly fell into an awkward silence.

"I don't remember you borrowing my notebook." Remus commented once they were in the safety of the Boy's Dormitory.

"Lily terrifies me. We're lucky that you thought of shielding only the four of us from the spell. It wouldn't do for anyone to know that Sirius Black gets scared." Sirius grinned.

"Oh, of course. Only we're allowed to know that and that's only because we know your weakness." Remus smirked slightly.

"And you've been sworn to silence." Sirius glared at him.

"I will never tell a soul that Sirius Black is terrified of snakes." Remus laughed as Sirius swung a pillow at his head.

"Come on. Find that notebook or we'll return to the Common Room to find James dead or worse, castrated." Sirius' grin returned.

"Only you would think that castration is worse then death." Remus rolled his eyes and pulled a battered notebook out of his trunk.

"And only you would think that academic ruin is worse then death." Sirius returned quickly. Remus rolled his eyes again and they started down the stairs. They found James and Lily still staring at each other.

"I hope we're not interrupting something." Remus tried not to laugh at the wistful expression on James' face and the angry one on Lily's.

"What took you so long?" Lily demanded, shooting up from her chair.

"Sorry. Sirius had it buried at the bottom of his trunk. It's nearly impossible to find anything in there." Remus continued Sirius' lie without flinching and handed Lily the notebook.

"Thanks. I'll return this as soon as I'm done." Lily promised and hurried off. James stared after her with a look of pure longing on his face.

"Let her go, Prongs. You'll get another chance." Remus clapped his friend on the back.

"Says you. This is my last year to snag her. If I screw it up this year, I'll never get another chance." James signed and turned to glare at the fire.

"Can I offer you a piece of advice?" Remus asked, tentatively.

"What?" James muttered.

"Try deflating your ego just a tad and refraining from cursing random Slytherin's without being provoked." Remus picked up the book he'd been reading before Lily had shown up.

"That couldn't work," James scoffed. Then he turned to Sirius, "Could it?"

The next day at breakfast, Dumbledore stood and addressed the Great Hall. James and Sirius looked up eagerly, waiting to be recognized for their work. Remus groaned and hid his face behind his hands. Peter snored into his plate of eggs.

"As you all know, a prank was played on us last night. Also due to the many red faces out there, I am guessing that many of you are quite angry because of this fact. Now, most of you would speculate that we have found the culprit already or at least we have a vague idea of who it was," Dumbledore shot an amused look at the Gryffindor table though the color of his face did not change, "We have a good idea however we have no proof. The prank was performed so that there is no way to trace it to its source.

"However, be warned. There are ways to punish these culprits without knowing their exact identity. If anyone has any… proof of wrongdoings, he or she should come forward immediately. Good day." Dumbledore shot another look at the Marauders and turned to Professor McGonagall.

"He knows." Remus muttered.

"Yeah but he thinks it was a good prank. Did you see the way he tried not to smile and how he told everyone about how he couldn't trace it?" James grinned.

"I bet Lily's going to sell us out the first chance she gets." Sirius commented returning to his food.

"She won't." Remus told him simply, beginning to eat again as well.

"What makes you so sure?" James asked, raising his eyebrows at Remus' confident tone.

"No matter how much Lily hates you, she has some House loyalty. That loyalty assures her silence in matters such as these. She has no problem castrating _you_ but selling out all of us? No, that's much too underhanded. Much too Slytherin. Lily is too nice to be underhanded." Remus assured them.

"She's not nice to me." James grumbled.

"That's because she hates you." Sirius clapped his friend on the back. James turned to glare at him while Remus tried to wake Peter so he could eat.

"Come on, Pete! Wake up!" Remus finally pushed the boy backwards off the bench. Peter woke as he hit the ground and began to swear loudly.

"Mr. Pettigrew! Language!" Professor McGonagall snapped, appearing behind him out of nowhere. James and Sirius looked shocked. A boy sitting nearby choked on his food. His friend began hitting him on the back.

"Sorry Professor." Peter apologized, untangling himself from his robes and getting back on the bench before glaring at Remus.

"I was just trying to wake you." Remus told him without a trace of shame. Sirius sniggered.

**Next Chapter: **Slughorn

**Excerpt:** The Marauders didn't prank anyone again until lunch time, thinking that the teachers would be on their guard. At lunch however, Sirius broke and turned Severus Snape into a giant chicken across the Great Hall.

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